Dec
26
2009I’ll add to this list as I find and use other dairy-free products. However, if you’re also on a Dairy-free journey and have a recommended product feel free to email me the link to your review or email me a review to add to this post. I would love for this to help others!
Milk Substitutes
Rice Dream: I’ve not personally had a drink of this product, but Nana made my pumpkin pie with it. I was quite the fan of the pumpkin pie so I highly recommend it for baking fantastic pumpkin pies 😉 Update: I did buy a half gallon of this. It’s super chalky tasting and really watery. I was not a fan. But it made fantastic hot chocolate when mixed with Nesquik powder where Almond and Soy milks just tasted weird.
Almond Breeze: I’ve only had their refrigerated varieties but I imagine the aseptic containers contain a similar or equal high value product.
Vanilla (sweetened): This a fantastic drink product. I love the way it tastes. There is a slight almond-y taste to it and a sort of usual milk/sweet beverage aftertaste, but it is great cold in a tall glass.
Vanilla (unsweetened): I’ve been addicted to making banana and fruit or banana, chocolate syrup, and peanut butter smoothies with this product. It’s perfect for adding a creaminess to a smoothie without adding unneeded sweetness.
Original: I think this tastes just like milk on cereal, but keep in mind it’s a long time since I actually had milk on cereal… But it doesn’t have the soy bean aftertaste, so it’s got to be closer…
Silk:
Silk Almond: Well it’s better than their soy products, but it’s not as good as Almond Breeze and I think the Vanilla version is super close.
Original: Definite traditional soy bean-y aftertaste, but it’s not too bad. Store brands generally tastes the same.
Vanilla: Also has a bean-y aftertaste, but a little less than original. It will work for cereal great, if you don’t mind added sweetness, and isn’t too bad to drink either. Store brands also taste the same.
Unsweetened: Great for baking. I just made pumpkin pancakes with this and they taste great. It’s cheaper than other alternatives too.
Chocolate (full fat): My chocolate milk drinking snob of a husband will fight me for this stuff. It’s fantastic and well… addicting. Buy with caution.
Pumpkin Nog: A great seasonal treat. Soy aftertaste, but it’s really good flavored (though I’m somewhat miffed that there’s no pumpkin in it whatsoever…)
Soy Nog: Has a traditional eggnog type flavor but is missing the stick to your throat creaminess of eggnog. I wouldn’t buy this if you’re an eggnog snob lover like I am.
Chai: A really tasty chai latte tasting drink. I really, really like this and I’m a chai tea snob. It does have the bean-y aftertaste though.
Butter Replacements
Smart Balance Heart Right Light Buttery Spread: Tastes like butter, but is only good for eating on a bagel or toast (not recommended for baking). This goes on my morning Thomas Bagel (dairy free!) sometimes with a little cinnamon sugar added. So good!
Earth Balance Shortening Sticks: We made my husband’s double chocolate chip cookies with this product. They tasted the same. I’m sure a pie crust would be perfectly made with this too!
Earth Balance Vegan Sticks: I’m not going to lie: I spread this on a bagel while starving and running out the door. I gagged on it it tasted so bad. I actually picked around in on my bagel. That said; it does bake up into a fantastic muffin. I can’t master cookies with it. Maybe I’ll mix it with the shortening sticks.
Ice Cream and Yogurt
Turtle Mountain Products: I’m quite a fan of Turtle Mountains Ice Creams and to top it all off I can find most of their products in normal grocery stores.
- Coconut Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is really rich and creamy and just about perfect, but you have to like coconut cause you do taste it!
- Chocolate Obsession is really good too, though you can taste that soy flavor. However, my
ice cream snobhusband will happily down a pint of Chocolate Obsession. - Coconut Milk Yogurt This has less of an obvious coconut flavor than the ice cream and a good yogurt bacteria zing… but it’s not at all comparable to the taste of my beloved Publix brand yogurts. I personally don’t think it’s worth the extra money (something like $.60 a piece), but it’s not bad tasting. I can only find it at Whole Foods locally.
- So Delicious Minis Ice Cream Sandwiches These taste super soy beany to me in the ice cream content, but the chocolate brownie parts saves the whole deal. Not too bad at all but the Tofutti Cuties are better (and cheaper!).
Tofutti Cuties: My sister used to get these back in her vegetarian days. They were very tasty and you honestly couldn’t tell the difference between these and your run of the mill ice cream sandwich. In fact, I’m not sure why I haven’t looked for them locally yet… P.S. The mint chip variety is my new favorite treat now that I’ve found them locally!
Chocolate
Whole Foods Brand Vegan Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Not as melty as milk based chips, but the flavor is perfect for a semi-sweet. At our local store these are $2.99 a bag, which is a steal compared to a fancy chocolate bar.
Whole Foods Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: These have the same ingredients as the Vegan ones, but have the added warning that they were processed in a plant that also processes dairy. Since I don’t think the girls have an allergy, I’m not too worried about trace amounts of dairy so I started buying these. They only cost $1.99. I like keeping that extra dollar…
Bakers Chocolate Semi-Sweet Baking Squares: This is what I use to make fondues with almond milk and pudding. Tastes like chocolate to me 🙂
Dec
25
2009Merry Christmas to you! I hope you are enjoying the best Gift of this season: the Love of Christ!
My husband and I are still busy paying off our Buy One Get One Free baby special, so Christmas this year had to be highly budgeted. I got a little creative with gifts and we only spent $63 dollars on 7 people.
My dad and Derek’s parents received a 20 page 5 by 7 photo brag book of the twin’s first three months from Shutterfly. These were buy one, get one half off.
I bought my mom a fancy garlic press (she wanted one) and made her a wallet set using stash fabric, zipper, and a snap.
A coin purse. I just stitched some rectangles to a 3″ stash zipper. This was the hardest of the three and I’m still not happy with it. It would have been easier if I could find my missing zipper foot (so frustrated!) Live and learn!
For my sister, I machine quilted her Amy Butler Obsession Quilt and bound it. I’ve never done such extensive quilting and I’m super happy with it, especially the fun variegated lines in the navy blue border. My sister wasn’t upset that we couldn’t find matching cotton teal for that border so I had fun spicing up the plain navy.
Since my sister purchased all the fabric for her quilt and even sewed together the top, I decided I’d make her a cute bag and wallet too.
Rae’s Gorgeous Buttercup Bag Pattern (I’m considering reopening my Etsy shop just to sell these. Would you buy one? I love it!)
The wallet uses her quilt backing and bag lining fabric and was a fun little project!
Aeralind and Bronwyn received a set of three hanging teething toys. I’m also going to make them a pair of hand embroidered baby dedication gowns. That deadline is quickly approaching, so I had better get started!
Dec
24
2009I’ve mentioned in some of my other post that the girls are latching without nipple shields! They’ve been doing so for about 3 weeks now and life is so much simpler because of it!
I haven’t had mastitis or a significant plugged duct since Thanksgiving. I’ll credit careful attention and a Soy Lecithin supplement (not to mention vegan chocolate chips also have Soy Lecithin).
The girls still have strong reactions to milk products. I tried to sneak 2 spoonfuls of ice cream last week. My ears hurt from the amount of screaming Bronwyn put me through and Aeralind was not happy with me either. I’ll be posting more about the dairy free breastfeeding life in the weeks to come: recipes, resources, and milk substitution reviews are on the agenda.
I’ll be honest, I cried at least once a week up until three weeks ago when they started latching and sleeping through the night. These first three months have been hard. Pumping, dealing with plugged ducts due to oversupply & pumping, mastitis, and teaching two babies to latch, all while terribly sleep deprived definitely makes for an overly emotional journey
For those of you just starting such a journey: keep at it! Surround yourself with supportive people: My husband would come home from work, tired himself, and when he saw me shed a tear he would gently send me to bed. The lactation consultants at St. Francis were incredible. I can’t express to you how supportive they have been and how proud they are that I’ve made it this far. Supportive people make all the difference.
Set yourself a goal; my first goal was 6 weeks. Once you reach that goal reevaluate; at six weeks the girls were taking just about every feeding from me with the aid of a nipple shield and I still had more than enough milk. I decided I’d try to make it to 3 months. At 3 months, a year seems like it’ll be a piece of cake; it can only get easier from here!
For Moms of Multiples just beginning this journey, please feel free to contact me. I’ll do everything I can to encourage and support you.
Dec
22
2009Here’s a day in the life of a mother of 3 month old twins in all it’s chaotic glory. This post is LONG, don’t feel like you have to read it 😉 I think parts of it are rather amusing… seriously, how long did it take for me to make 18 pancakes?!
4:00 Derek retrieves hungry girls, I feed them. He burps them and I take them back to the crib.
7:00 Same feeding set up. and the girls fall back asleep in bed with mommy
9:30 I wake and feed both girls who are rooting around for food. I struggle to keep Aeralind awake after the feeding. Bronwyn screams until she spits up on changing table. Both girls get diapers changed.
10:00 Babies play while mommy tosses diapers in washer, checks email, reads blogs and writes.
10:30 Babies fuss and go back in bed for a nap
11:00 Chat with mom on facebook and mix up pumpkin pancakes
12:15 Make a sandwich for lunch
12:20 Grab fussing babies feed them while eating my lunch.
12:45 Babies scream a lot after the meal (ate too much too fast). Calm them down while eating a bowl of minestrone (they like watching my arm move apparently).
1:00 Grab babies play/drying rack to entertain them, turn diapers on washing cycle two, write a reply on baby center forums.
1:10 Babies are tired and put down for nap.
1:20 Aeralind still a little fussy, put paci in and she contentedly sleeps.
1:30 Turn on griddle to make pancakes (for Christmas dinner), unload and load dishwasher
1:40 Start making pancakes.
1:55 Pancakes are still cooking while I run back and forth collecting and sorting laundry and matching socks that have been clean since last Monday…
2:00 Bronwyn wakes up and fusses a little while I’m sorting laundry. After continued mutterings I place a paci in her mouth. I’m excited that the pumpkin pancakes recipe is thick enough that it doesn’t burn while I’m running back and forth!
2:05 Laundry is sorted, 6 pancakes made, and I stuff inserts in clean diapers
2:11 It becomes apparent that Bronwyn is not going to go back to sleep and Aeralind has joined her… Tummy time for babies ensues… Bronwyn decides that tummy time was not in her agenda and complains. Aeralind for once enjoys it… for about 3 minutes… I ignore complaints and stuff diapers and make pancakes…
2:25 Roll screaming Aeralind onto her back. Bronwyn is practically asleep on her tummy, but I roll her over too.
2:35 Pull clean wet diapers out of washer (I don’t usually wash diapers two days in a row, but I wanted to get all of that done today so that I could hold off on laundry until Wednesday or Thursday), Put in a load of mommy/daddy clothing, flip pancake over. Girls are now hungry… bib them up and wait for pancake #10 to finish cooking, then feed girls.
2:41 Aeralind overeats and spits a ton on my tummy before I have time to even lift and burp her. At least she didn’t scream! Burp babies then down to play mat. Start pancakes again.
2:50 Bronwyn screams. I pick her up and she burps. We rest a moment reading a blog that I might as well begin following…
2:58 I burn my first pancake (#11)
3:01 Pancake #12 bites the dust… I turn off the griddle. Babies are happy under the drying rack/play mat. I go hang diapers outside.
3:12 Backyard was a flood zone… PJ/yoga pants get switched out for a skirt as the one pair of jeans that fit are in the wash. I laugh at my circle skirt, T-shirt, fleece jacket, and purple polar bears socks combo. Usually I’m better dressed than this I promise… though the crazy socks are typical.
3:15 Babies are ready for a nap, though Aeralind fights sleep… I read my Google analytics and discover that I’m on the 4th page of a Google search on “breastfeeding milk allergy.” Decide I need to write the next breastfeeding post since people are reading and I have learned a TON about being milk-free. I would love to help someone out!
3:23 Decide I better make dinner first while babies are asleep. Throw in next load of laundry and start dinner.
4:00 Guess who turned back on the griddle to make pancakes while cooking dinner?
4:10 Resting while blogging/searching internet/cooking pancakes/waiting for dinner to boil so I can turn it down to a simmer.
4:17 Sweet Bronwyn awakes and spends some quality time on my lap while waiting for sister to awake.
4:26 Try to remember when I last changed the girls… um… 10 something… poor babies… Decide to wait until Bronwyn finishes filling her diaper to rectify that situation.
4:28 Final pancake count (minus burnt ones and the one I ate) 19.
4:30 Bronwyn wiggles on the floor and I start writing some dairy-free blog posts
4:40 I get a box from Jen Odom!!! Haven’t opened it yet 😀
4:52 I think Operation Fill Bronwyn’s Diaper is complete and she’s getting hungry so I go change her diaper and wake and change her sister diaper too.
5:18 I struggle to keep them awake after their meal. P.S. Operation FIll Bronwyn’s Diaper was unsuccessful
5:31 Husband calls to tell me he’s coming home
5:40 Open Jen’s box. Find two presents, two bibs, and three cards. One card informs me that I must wait until Christmas. I teasingly complain on Jen’s Facebook page.
5:45 I sit down to enjoy dinner (too hungry to wait on hubby) and continue writing what has now become 4 separate blog posts (including this one)
6:10 Derek arrives and eats dinner. I read him this post so far. He laughs. I take that as a good sign 😉
6:25 Both babies begin screaming. It’s like they knew daddy was home and wanted to talk to him. I promise they are daddy’s girls!
6:31 Feed Babies, Derek burps them. We listen to Odyssey on the couch as a family.
7:11 Bronwyn goes to her crib. Poor thing was rubbing her little eyes ;(
7:25 Aeralind goes to her crib.
7:27 Both girls fuss like crazy and get their little selves put in the swing.
7:43 Derek puts in another load of laundry for me. Pancake count now at 18 and I stuff them in the freezer to await Christmas day.
8:00 Bronwyn snuggles next to me, Aeralind is in her swing. Daddy and I are just enjoying the evening. I’m downloading pictures onto my computer. Looks like the girls are about to take one of their world famous evening catnaps.
8:34 I’ve finished and scheduled two blog posts. Both girls are napping and I’m nervous about their ability to sleep through the night tonight… Hubby is playing LOTRO and we’re enjoying peace and the clicking of Aeralind’s swing. I’m realizing just how tired I am today.
8:58 Aeralind awakes instantly screaming for food. Time to feed the babies!
9:17 Switch last load of mommy/daddy laundry into the dryer and slip back into my now dry (and clean) pj/yoga pants.
9:30 Derek alternates caring for both babies as they scream Both babies spew all over him. We burp them almost religiously, but still they wait to spit up until later. Oh well. I’m holding out hope for a 10:00 bedtime for Mommy. The cloth diapers are still outside on the line.
9:39 I finish and schedule 5 blog posts (not including this one) and consider doing another before bedtime. A & B are sneezing and making their adorable after sneeze sighs. We love and laugh at those sighs.
9:54 I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I take fussy Aeralind with me. Please calm down, sweet baby girl.
10:05 I notice a ladybug doing donuts on my mirror for a full minute. I’m transfixed… oh, yeah… I’m sleep deprived.
10:07 Daddy read a good night prayer to the babies and the corresponding verse.
10:11 Girls still fussing… I decide to read Time for Bed to them. Maybe 10:30 will be bedtime?
10:19 In bed with husband. He prays with me… my brain is still too busy to sleep, but eventually I drift off.
